The present invention relates to a facility for playing (an amusement system) which is advantageously installed in a resort or amusement place such as an amusement park or an ordinary park, a department store or a shopping center where infants are likely to gather.
As well known, various amusement systems for pleasure are installed in amusement parks and the like. For example, there are known amusement systems which comprise a horizontal rotary shaft, arms fixed to the shaft and a seat fixed to the arms, whereby the seat is rotated or pivoted about the rotary shaft within a vertical plane. With these systems, a player on the seat bodily senses the gravity (G) during ascent and the zero gravity during descent. That is, the player can easily get a special bodily sensation that cannot be experienced in daily life. These amusement systems have gained great popularity among people, particularly among adolescents.
Roller coasters are also well known as amusement rides which cause riders to feel speeds and thrills. In recent years, amusement rides have been proposed which are provided with a loop portion and a sudden reverse portion for enhancement of the feeling of speeds and thrills. These amusement systems, which also give riders a special bodily sensation that cannot be experienced in daily life, have gained great popularity among people, particularly among adolescents.
However, the aforesaid amusement systems have been developed mainly for adolescents who have a sufficient physical strength, and a limited number of amusement systems have been developed for infants who are younger generation than the adolescents.
In this respect, the inventor of the present invention proposed an amusement system mainly for infants as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-126769 (1996). The amusement system includes four support posts standing upright, a partition member of a mesh material stretched between the support posts, a cover sheet provided along a hem of the partition member, balloons retained in a space defined by the partition member, and air supply devices mounted on upper ends of the respective support posts.
In this amusement system, air streams generated by the air supply devices flow from the top toward the bottom of the space. The air streams are deflected by the bottom of the space and the cover sheet, and then flow back inwardly of the space to form spiral air streams. The balloons retained in the space are stirred by the spiral air streams thereby to float and swirl. Infant players play in various ways within the space in which the balloons are thus floating and swirling.
Although this amusement system gives pleasure with an unprecedented amusement to the infants, the amusement system needs to be improved in the following aspects.
Where the balloons are charged with a gas such as helium having a lower specific gravity, the balloons are a readily stirred by the air streams flowing from the top toward the bottom of the space. More specifically, the balloons are carried downward by the air streams and then upward in the space because of their specific gravity and, again, carried downward by the air streams. Thus, the balloons easily float and swirl. Where the balloons are charged with air, on the other hand, the balloons sink on the bottom of the space in a windless state because of their specific gravity. Therefore, upward air streams flowing upward within the space should be generated to cause the balloons to float and swirl.
However, the amusement system is adapted to cause the air streams to flow from the top toward the bottom of the space so that the air streams after hitting against the bottom of the space flow along the bottom. This disadvantageously makes it difficult to generate upward air streams which flow upward in the space. Therefore, the plurality of air supply devices are provided at the top of the space in the amusement system to cause the air streams from the air supply devices to hit against the bottom of the space for generation of the upward air streams flowing toward the top of the space. However, the upward air streams have lower speeds because the air streams having hit against the bottom of the space collide with each other to form the upward air streams.
Since the air supply devices are mounted on the upper ends of the support posts in the amusement system, the support posts should have a sufficiently high strength to stably support the air supply devices, and should firmly be fixed on a floor to stably maintain their upright posture. Therefore, the support posts are heavy and, hence, difficult to transport. Further, assembling of the system requires much time and the assembling operation is not easy.
The amusement system is intended mainly for infants. Therefore, such amusement systems may be installed not only in amusement parks and ordinary parks but also in department stores and shopping centers where infants are likely to gather. Where the amusement system is installed in a department store or a shopping center, the amusement system may be used for an extended period or in an event site for a limited period. In this respect, it is preferred that the amusement system can easily be transported and easily and conveniently be assembled. Therefore, the prior art amusement system needs to be improved for ease of transportation and assembling thereof.
As a result of intensive studies conducted to further improve the prior art amusement system, the inventor has achieved the present invention. It is an object of the present invention to provide an amusement system which is capable of easily generating an upward air stream and is easy to transport and convenient to assemble.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a facility for playing (an amusement system) which comprises a plurality of balloons retained in a space defined by a partition member, and at least one air supply means for causing air to flow within the space, wherein the partition member is constituted by an air permeable member and/or an air impermeable member, wherein the air supply means is provided adjacent the bottom of the space inside and/or outside the space, wherein the air permeable member constitutes at least a portion of the partition member adjacent the air supply means provided outside the space as opposed thereto, whereby the air supply means generates an air stream which flows along the bottom of the space so that the balloons retained in the space are stirred by the air stream generated by the air supply means thereby to float and swirl.
When the air supply means is driven, an air stream of a predetermined speed is supplied from the air supply means. Since the air permeable member of the partition member is located adjacent the air supply means as opposed thereto, the air stream supplied from the air supply means provided outside the space passes through the air permeable member into the space to flow along the bottom of the space (along a floor surface) On the other hand, the air stream from the air supply means provided inside the space directly flows along the bottom of the space.
Where the air impermeable member of the partition member is located in a spaced and opposed relation to the air supply means or located downstream of the air supply means, the air stream flowing along the bottom of the space hits against the air impermeable member to be deflected, and flow along the air impermeable member.
Where the air impermeable member is provided perpendicularly to the bottom of the space, the air stream supplied from the air supply means is deflected by the air impermeable member to flow along the air impermeable member, i.e., deflected into an upward air stream flowing upward in the space.
In accordance with the present invention, the upward air stream is easily generated within the space. Further, the air stream flowing along the bottom of the space once hits against the air impermeable member to be deflected into the upward air stream. Therefore, reduction in the kinetic energy of the air stream is suppressed, so that the speed of the upward air stream can properly be maintained. Even if the balloons retained in the space have such a high specific gravity that the balloons sink on the bottom of the space in a windless state, the balloons can easily be stirred thereby to float and swirl. That is, the balloons present adjacent the bottom of the space is moved upward in the space by the air stream flowing along the bottom of the space and the upward air stream flowing along the air impermeable member. Finally, the balloons naturally sink onto the bottom of the space by gravity. This process sequence is repeated, whereby the balloons float and swirl.
Players play in various ways within the space in which the balloons are thus floating and swirling. For example, infant players play tag with their sight being obstructed by the balloons. Adult players walk into the space through an entrance to look for an exit thereby to enjoy feeling as if they were in a labyrinth. Further, players simply enjoy catching the floating balloons.
Since-the air supply means is provided adjacent the bottom of the space, the provision of the air supply means is easily achieved with a relatively simple construction. Therefore, the amusement system according to the present invention is easy to transport and easy and convenient to assemble.
The air permeable member herein means a member that permits air (gas) to pass therethrough from one side to the other side thereof with sufficient vigor, and examples thereof include a mesh member and a grid member. More specifically, the air permeable member may be composed, for example, of a mesh material or a grid material of natural fibers such as of a resin (e.g., rubber) or a metal, synthetic fibers, glass filaments or metal filaments, or composed of a mesh material or a grid material of ropes or belts of any of these fibers and filaments. The air impermeable member is capable of limiting air passage to some extent, and may be a plate such as a glass plate, an acryl plate or a wood plate, a resin sheet such as a nylon sheet or a vinyl sheet, a woven or knitted fabric, or a structure such as of concrete.
The air supply means to be employed in the present invention may include at least one pair of air supply means which are disposed in such a relation that air supply directions thereof are crosswise to each other. With this arrangement, the air streams supplied from the respective air supply means flow along the bottom of the space and collide with each other within the space, so that turbulence (swirl) including an upward air stream flowing upward in the space is generated. The balloons retained in the space are stirred by the air streams from the air supply means and the turbulence thereby to float and swirl. Therefore, the air streams collide with each other with a smaller energy loss than in a case where the air streams hit against other members before colliding with each other. Thus, the speed of the turbulence after the collision is properly maintained, so that the balloons in the space float and vigorously swirl.
The air supply means may include an air supply mechanism for supplying energized gas in a predetermined direction, and a housing accommodating therein the air supply mechanism and having an air inlet and an air outlet. This arrangement is preferred because the players and the like can step onto the housing. More specifically, where the air supply means is located adjacent the bottom of the space outside the space, observers of infant players can observe or keep watch on the infant players who are playing in the space from the outside while sitting on the housing without physical fatigue. Where the air supply means is located adjacent the bottom of the space inside the space, the infants (players) can enjoy stepping on and off the housing with increasing pleasure.
The air outlet may be provided with louvers for changing the flow direction of the air stream supplied from the air supply mechanism. Thus, the air flow direction in the space can be adjusted by the louvers, whereby the floating state of the balloons in the space can be optimized. The louvers may be adapted to be driven by driver means, so that the air flow direction within the space can automatically be changed. Thus, the air flow direction can be varied every moment, whereby the floating state of the balloons can be varied.